EFL Trophy (England)

EFL Trophy (England) (founded in 1983, formerly the Football League Trophy) - a knockout cup competition for EFL League One and EFL League Two clubs with additional invited Category One academy sides. Regulations: the competition features League One and League Two clubs plus up to 16 invited teams drawn from Premier League clubs operating a Category One academy under the league’s invitation rules, and it is played via a group stage followed by knockout rounds. The group stage is split into 16 groups of four (eight Northern and eight Southern), typically with one invited team and three EFL clubs, each team plays the others once, matches are 90 minutes with no extra time, a win earns 3 points and a defeat 0, and if level after 90 minutes both teams receive 1 point and an immediate penalty shootout awards an additional point to the shootout winner. If teams are level on points in a group, rankings are decided by goal difference, goals scored, wins in normal time, then head-to-head criteria and finally drawing of lots. The top two in each group advance to the Round of 32 and the bracket continues with regionalisation up to the quarter-finals, all knockout ties up to the final are single-leg 90-minute matches decided by penalties if level, while the final includes 30 minutes of extra time if level after 90 minutes and then penalties if required at a neutral venue. Squad rules also apply: EFL clubs must meet “full available strength” requirements, and invited teams must start at least six under-21 players and limit the number of over-age, highly experienced players on the team sheet.